As Krishna finished his tale, a nervous chatter began amongst the crowd. A rumor had spread amongst them that Karna, Son of the Sun, King of Anga, was on his way to the campfire. They said that there might be conflict between him and Krishna, since the two of them fought on opposite sides of the war that Karna had ultimately died in. Some of the spirits even began to leave with some haste, fearful of the energies that might arise from such a clash in heaven.
Word of Karna's impending arrival reached Lakshmana, Hanuman and Krishna. Lakshmana raised an eyebrow at Krishna, curious at what the avatar of Vishnu would do. Hanuman, on the other hand, simply reclined on the ground, producing a fruit to eat by thought, as one can do in heaven. Krishna was completely unreadable.
A hush befell the crowd as they made way for Karna. The son of Surya approached the group slowly and stopped before Krishna, who rose slowly to face him.
For a tense moment, the two stared at each other. Then, Krishna extended an open hand to his former enemy. Karna looked at it, then bowed shallowly and gripped the hand in friendship.
"Here," said Karna, "the wars of life are behind us. I will gladly call you 'friend' now."
Krishna smiled. "It seems to have become a rite of passage for our small group to tell a story of how we helped our friends. Might you care to share one?"
Karna sat down, and then took a thoughtful moment to decide on a subject. "As a matter of fact, I can think of an instance when you came to me, Krishna."
* * *
* * * * *
The
eve
of
battle was approaching. Duryodhana and I had spent many months
awaiting the arrival of the Pandavas from their exile. Negotiations had
failed already and battle was inevitable. I often chastised Duryodhana for
his belligerence in the matter. Despite the fact that he was my
friend, I did not agree with the actions he took thirteen years
before when he cheated the Pandavas out of their kingdom. Nor did I
agree with how he was handling the situation at that moment. War was
coming and I was not sure we could win.
I found the whole affair distasteful. I had spent many years thinking long and hard about its implications. If I refused to fight for Duryodhana, I would fail to uphold my promise of allegiance that I gave when he made me the king of Anga years before. It was the greatest gift one man could give to another and for that, he deserved my loyalty. However, I knew his heart was foul, so I took it upon myself to be as much of a positive influence as I could be. If he were to become king, I felt that it would go against Dharma, since he was not pure in spirit. I was faced with an impossible dilemma: breaking Dharma by breaking my word, or potentially breaking Dharma by making an evil man king.
My heart eased, though felt heavy, when you approached me, Krishna.
"Ah, yes," said Krishna. "I know where you're going with this."
"Well, let him finish so we can all hear it," Lakshmana said irritably.
Yes, I'm referring to that night, Krishna. Krishna came to Hastinapura as an envoy for the Pandavas and stayed for a week, trying to talk sense into Duryodhana. Even though Dhritarashtra was still the king, he deferred to anything his son wanted. It was the poor king's greatest weakness and it doomed us all. Krishna's negotiations failed, so he came to me on the seventh night with a piece of information that made me want to weep and curse in anger all at once.
He invited me onto his chariot and we drove about in the brilliant moonlight, speaking our minds. Finally, he turned to me solemnly, as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"You are, in fact, a brother of the Pandavas," he told me. "You are Kunthi's first born son, sired by the Sun God, Surya, before she was married to Pandu. If you were to fight with us against Duryodhana, you would be the heir to the throne of Indraprastha and Hastinapura, not Yudhishthira, since you are the eldest son of Kunthi."
Without a doubt, it was a tempting idea. Not only could I take solace in knowing that a terrible man like Duryodhana would not be king, but I could take comfort in knowing I had been born of such noble stock and would rule the kingdom alongside my noble brothers.
I silently stood beside him on that chariot for some time, considering it. It seemed almost too good to be true. I was brimming with excitement at the idea of being able to rule Indraprastha and Hastinapura. Fighting alongside the Pandavas would mean that I stood a much better chance of surviving the war. But then a weight fell upon my heart. I thought of what it would mean if I broke my word to Duryodhana.
Sometimes, we don't always agree with our friends. Sometimes our friends are not always the best people to others. But Duryodhana had done so much good for me, by making me King of Anga and letting me gain such glory by fighting with his armies, that I knew Dharma would never allow me to shy away from my responsibility to him. I owed him. He had been a friend to me and I needed to do the same for him.
I turned back to Krishna finally. "I'm sorry, Krishna," I told him. "I wish things could be different."
"Denying Vishnu in good conscience is a hard thing to do, Karna," said Hanuman.
"You'd best shut your mouth and let him finish the story, Hanuman, before I make you," growled Lakshmana. The gathered crowd could not decide if he was serious or not.
"Will your continued friendship do you or him any good?" Krishna asked me.
"Perhaps not," I told him. "But, at least I know I will die with Dharma in my favor. I will get to reside in the place in heaven for warriors. That is all I can truly ask for."
Krishna looked at me thoughtfully and nodded. He was gone the next day and battle started soon after. My life soon came to an end, and I found myself here in heaven. For that, Krishna, I do not begrudge you or anyone else.
Bibliography:
Narayan, R.K. (1978). The Mahabharata.
I found the whole affair distasteful. I had spent many years thinking long and hard about its implications. If I refused to fight for Duryodhana, I would fail to uphold my promise of allegiance that I gave when he made me the king of Anga years before. It was the greatest gift one man could give to another and for that, he deserved my loyalty. However, I knew his heart was foul, so I took it upon myself to be as much of a positive influence as I could be. If he were to become king, I felt that it would go against Dharma, since he was not pure in spirit. I was faced with an impossible dilemma: breaking Dharma by breaking my word, or potentially breaking Dharma by making an evil man king.
My heart eased, though felt heavy, when you approached me, Krishna.
"Ah, yes," said Krishna. "I know where you're going with this."
"Well, let him finish so we can all hear it," Lakshmana said irritably.
Yes, I'm referring to that night, Krishna. Krishna came to Hastinapura as an envoy for the Pandavas and stayed for a week, trying to talk sense into Duryodhana. Even though Dhritarashtra was still the king, he deferred to anything his son wanted. It was the poor king's greatest weakness and it doomed us all. Krishna's negotiations failed, so he came to me on the seventh night with a piece of information that made me want to weep and curse in anger all at once.
He invited me onto his chariot and we drove about in the brilliant moonlight, speaking our minds. Finally, he turned to me solemnly, as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"You are, in fact, a brother of the Pandavas," he told me. "You are Kunthi's first born son, sired by the Sun God, Surya, before she was married to Pandu. If you were to fight with us against Duryodhana, you would be the heir to the throne of Indraprastha and Hastinapura, not Yudhishthira, since you are the eldest son of Kunthi."
Without a doubt, it was a tempting idea. Not only could I take solace in knowing that a terrible man like Duryodhana would not be king, but I could take comfort in knowing I had been born of such noble stock and would rule the kingdom alongside my noble brothers.
I silently stood beside him on that chariot for some time, considering it. It seemed almost too good to be true. I was brimming with excitement at the idea of being able to rule Indraprastha and Hastinapura. Fighting alongside the Pandavas would mean that I stood a much better chance of surviving the war. But then a weight fell upon my heart. I thought of what it would mean if I broke my word to Duryodhana.
Sometimes, we don't always agree with our friends. Sometimes our friends are not always the best people to others. But Duryodhana had done so much good for me, by making me King of Anga and letting me gain such glory by fighting with his armies, that I knew Dharma would never allow me to shy away from my responsibility to him. I owed him. He had been a friend to me and I needed to do the same for him.
I turned back to Krishna finally. "I'm sorry, Krishna," I told him. "I wish things could be different."
"Denying Vishnu in good conscience is a hard thing to do, Karna," said Hanuman.
"You'd best shut your mouth and let him finish the story, Hanuman, before I make you," growled Lakshmana. The gathered crowd could not decide if he was serious or not.
"Will your continued friendship do you or him any good?" Krishna asked me.
"Perhaps not," I told him. "But, at least I know I will die with Dharma in my favor. I will get to reside in the place in heaven for warriors. That is all I can truly ask for."
Krishna looked at me thoughtfully and nodded. He was gone the next day and battle started soon after. My life soon came to an end, and I found myself here in heaven. For that, Krishna, I do not begrudge you or anyone else.
*
*
*
*
* * * *
The group of warriors and friends sat
around the fire's light for some time, reveling in their stories of
glories and friendships of the past. As the night progressed, more and
more heroes whose origins came from all over the world joined them.
Then, the gathered crowd filtered out slowly, until the night ended and
the heroes parted ways. The fire, however, kept burning, awaiting other
souls who would inevitably come before it to share their tales.
Author's Note: I decided to take a different approach this time. So far, I've focused heavily on the friends of the heroes of these epics, but I've not really spent any time reflecting on the friends of the villains. I thought Karna was especially fitting for this project, because he was as good and powerful a man as any of the Pandavas, but he felt bound by his friendship to Duryodhana to fight on his behalf. I actually found him to be one of the most sympathetic characters of the Mahabharata, since he was really thrust into the different situations of his life purely by circumstance. He never really had the chance to do all the good he really wanted to do.
As for the framing story, I wanted to give it a slight bit of story tension with the "confrontation" of Krishna and Karna. I also wanted to give the framing story a little closure, so I put in the brief epilogue to kind of round out the whole storybook.
I hope you've enjoyed these stories! Thank you.
Image: Concept art of Karna for a video game of the Mahabharata.
Source: CG Tantra Forums
*
*
*
*
* * * *
Author's Note: I decided to take a different approach this time. So far, I've focused heavily on the friends of the heroes of these epics, but I've not really spent any time reflecting on the friends of the villains. I thought Karna was especially fitting for this project, because he was as good and powerful a man as any of the Pandavas, but he felt bound by his friendship to Duryodhana to fight on his behalf. I actually found him to be one of the most sympathetic characters of the Mahabharata, since he was really thrust into the different situations of his life purely by circumstance. He never really had the chance to do all the good he really wanted to do.
As for the framing story, I wanted to give it a slight bit of story tension with the "confrontation" of Krishna and Karna. I also wanted to give the framing story a little closure, so I put in the brief epilogue to kind of round out the whole storybook.
I hope you've enjoyed these stories! Thank you.
Image: Concept art of Karna for a video game of the Mahabharata.
Source: CG Tantra Forums
Bibliography:
Narayan, R.K. (1978). The Mahabharata.
* *
* * * * * *
Table of Contents:
Cover Page
Introduction
1. Lakshmana Did His Best
2. Hanuman Moved A Mountain
3. Krishna Taught A Lesson
4. Karna Kept His Word
Table of Contents:
Cover Page
Introduction
1. Lakshmana Did His Best
2. Hanuman Moved A Mountain
3. Krishna Taught A Lesson
4. Karna Kept His Word